Tag: freedom

Citizen Soldier

Not talking about the Three Doors Down rock song Citizen Soldier, or our Country’s National Guard, for whom the song is dedicated.

Talking about all the active duty men and women military personnel I’ve seen this week. Orlando to Atlanta, Atlanta to Columbia, Columbia to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Dallas.

Decided, in the spirit of giving, to not only give thanks internally, but to give thanks externally.

So I awkwardly asked how best to show appreciation for their efforts. They all said basically the same thing.

A simple thank you means a lot.

And so that’s what I’ve been doing, going only a little out of my way (that’s all it takes), to thank each and every one I pass.

The Lord works in mysterious ways. One of the service men, heading back to Iraq and leaving behind a wife and three children (16, 10, 6) at Christmas time, wound up being an angel for me about five minutes later.

National Anthem Makes You Cry

This rendition of our National Anthem deserves your attention.

Why? Because five little girls will make your heart stop and tears flow, but only if you appreciate being an American Citizen and only if you have a great spirit of Love:

Enjoy your Freedom today. Many years ago, people came to our Country with a dream. Thank you, five young ladies, for reminding us.

Five Words….

Received an email from a good friend yesterday. No big deal there. Happens all the time right?

This one is different. It made me think. Deeply. And I can not disagree with this young soldier’s point of view. In fact, I think he has every right to call Americans callous. Seriously, I do.

And I’d like to extend my deepest regret for falling into the trap of conformity. Isaac, I’m very sorry.

Thank you for defending the blanket of freedom we Americans sleep under every night.

Here is the content of that email, without any editing from me. I do not know who originally sent it. And, in this crazy cyberworld we live in, I have no way of truly knowing if a soldier even wrote this. However, whether it was a soldier or not, I’m still touched by it’s relevance:

Date: Saturday, July 4, 2009, 5:37 PM
This is written by a young soldier serving his third tour of duty in Iraq. Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson news interesting and he’s right.
Okay, I need to rant.I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villian to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn’t the point of my rant.Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the Amercian people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a “moment of silence” for his passing?Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he’s a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying “good riddence,” and “thank God for IEDs?” When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a “Pop Icon?”

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military.


“So that others may live…”

Isaac